The Life and Times of Amaterasu Omikami
by mochi2isluv
Summary: While planning for the upcoming festival, a mysterious transfer student arrives and claims that the death of Ammy's parents was no accident. However, Ammy has enough troubles on hand, and now new, unwanted attentions are making her life more difficult...
1. The Herald of the Flute

**A/N: Once again, I am taking on yet another story without completing my other ones first. ;3; I've had this one written for a while though, so I figured I'd put it up. High school AU fic. Enjoy.  
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><p><strong>Chapter 1: The Herald of the Flute<strong>

Amaterasu sat perched in her favorite spot in a tree overlooking the rice fields that lay on the outskirts of the small city where they lived. The wind stirred on her face, curling its way into her shoulder-length black hair that never seemed to want to be tamed. It felt so nice, so relaxing…she took a deep breath of the clean air and felt all her worries dissipating away. No matter how busy she was, she always found time to sit there just before sunset—her favorite time of day. The sun washed the sky in beautiful shades of red and orange, and the light reflected off the water in the fields, bathing the entire world in hues of gold. Yes, sunset was very beautiful. But when it was gone, she was always left with the same small sadness, almost like loneliness.

Amaterasu thought this was silly. She was anything but lonely. She had 14 younger siblings at home to take care of. Their parents died in a fire when Amaterasu was only 9, and since then she adopted the role of mother. The youngest of them, the triplets Saku, Hasu, and Tsuta, along with Yumi, Tachi, and perhaps Baku, have never known anything but Amaterasu. They were too young when the incident occurred to even remember what their parents looked like. Eight years have passed since then, and now Amaterasu was in high school, in a town far away from where her parents died. They had moved right after the incident since they were afraid of all the painful ghosts and memories they would have if they stayed. Their aunt and uncle, Nami and Nagi, were well off and offered to be the family's new guardians, but Amaterasu didn't want to be a burden. She told them she could handle everything herself and stubbornly refused the large amounts of money they offered her. In the end, however, they reached a compromise. Nami and Nagi would pay for all the children's education and give them their old farmhouse to live in, and Amaterasu would play the role of mother and pay her aunt and uncle monthly rent for the house until it was all paid off. Nami and Nagi were still reluctant even under those conditions, but Amaterasu insisted. She told them that she wanted to do this for her family, and she convinced them by saying it was practice for the real world. So they let her do as she pleased, taking care of the family, although more often than she liked she would receive money and care packages from "anonymous" senders. She sighed. Her aunt and uncle were much too nice. She would spend a lifetime just trying to repay them for everything they've done so far.

The sun was starting to disappear, and Amaterasu sighed slightly. Sunsets happened too quickly. The breeze picked up and she heard the whisperings of a flute, its notes long and beautiful and surprisingly sad. It matched the mood of the disappearing sun very well. She sat back against the tree and listened, letting the soothing melody wash over her like the last rays of the sun.

When Amaterasu opened her eyes, it was already dusk. The sun had disappeared, along with the strange and beautiful music. How long had she been sleeping like that? Probably only about 30 minutes, since it wasn't completely dark, but long enough to make her siblings worry. They knew she went up here at sunset and tried not to bother her, but usually she didn't take that long and was always back as soon as the sun went down.

"Amaterasu." Sure enough, Ite had come to look for her. He was a pretty big kid for his age, tall and decently built, with a rigid jaw and brow line that made him always seem like he was brooding. He was the second oldest, for which she was glad because his level-headedness and strong-yet-silent personality gave him authority sometimes where she could not. He was also a worrier, which explained why he had come to look for her.

Ite scowled up into the trees. "Amaterasu, you made us worried," he scolded.

"I'm sorry. I fell asleep accidentally. I didn't mean to stay out this long."

"That's fine," Ite said gruffly. "As long as you be more careful next time."

Amaterasu smiled. Ite was a nice guy. It was too bad a lot of the girls at school were intimidated by him.

They headed home, to their uncle and aunt's old farmhouse, which was surprisingly big enough to fit all 15 of them relatively comfortably. There were seven bedrooms, all on the top floor of the house. Ite shared with Geki; Kabe with Kasu; Moe with Kaze; Yomi with Baku and Tachi; Nure with Yumi; and the triplets all together. Amaterasu had her own room, the master bedroom. Initially, she didn't want it, saying it would be better off split between three or four of them, most probably Ite, Geki, Moe, and Kaze, since they were all growing boys. But all her siblings insisted that she take it, with the triplets threatening to wail and make noise all night long until she agreed. She deserved it, they said, after all the time and work she put into raising them.

She tucked the little ones into bed, apologizing for making them worry, then headed off to bed herself after warning the older ones (mostly Moe and Kaze, who were playing video games) not to stay up too late on a school night. For some reason, she felt very tired. Maybe because she still had the flute song in her head, and the relaxing melody was making her sleepy. At times like this she was grateful that she had a room to herself. She collapsed on top of the bed, not bothering to remove her clothes or get under the sheets, and fell into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

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><p><strong>AN: Since it's kind of confusing, here's the Omikami family names, ages, and relationships to the brush gods in the game (for the sake of clarification, this is an AU story where they are all human, but I put their brush power and their form from the game because I know it's hard to keep all the names straight sometimes):  
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**Amaterasu- sunrise goddess, dog, 17  
>Ite- blizzard god, bull, 16<br>Geki- thunderstorm god, tiger, 15 (older twin)  
>Kabe- catwalk goddess, cat, 15 (younger twin)<br>Kasu- veil of mist goddess, sheep, 14  
>Moe- inferno god, rooster, 13<br>Kaze- galestorm god, horse, 13  
>Yomi- rejuvenation god, dragon, 12 (older twin)<br>Nure- waterspout goddess, snake, 12 (younger twin)  
>Baku- cherry bomb god, boar, 11<br>Tachi- powerslash god, rat, 10  
>Yumi- crescent goddess, rabbit, 9<br>Saku- bloom god, monkey, 8 (oldest triplet)  
>Hasu- water lily god, monkey, 8 (middle triplet)<br>Tsuta- vine god, monkey, 8 (youngest triplet)  
><strong>


	2. Just Another Day of School

**Chapter 2: Just Another Day of School**

"Hey Ammy!"

Amaterasu waved to short boy grinning beside a tall and slender girl. Most people called her Ammy, and she actually preferred it when they did. Ammy seemed to suit her tomboyish personality much more than Amaterasu, which she thought was too formal. Perhaps the only people who still called her by her full name were Ite and her aunt and uncle.

Ite walked slightly behind her, deep in thought as he usually was. When he noticed her friends, however, he left her and headed off to find his own group somewhere in the school yard.

"Hey Ammy, how's it goin'?" said the boy. He was so short, people often mistook him for a grade schooler, to which he would indignantly reply that he was a second year in high school, thank-you-very-much. He had a pretty short temper and loud mouth and was also a pervert, but then again most high school boys were. They just weren't as vocal about it as Issun.

The pretty girl beside him smiled at Amaterasu, her slender arms folded across her chest. She had long black bangs that circled her face, and in the back she wore a bun that was kept down with a flower patterned hair clip.

"Good morning, Ammy," she said.

"Good morning, Issun, Sakuya," she replied, smiling back at them. The two of them had been her best friends since they met each other in middle school. Issun and Sakuya had known each other before then, although they hadn't been friends because sometimes they didn't get along. That was because sometimes Issun commented on Sakuya's breasts and the like, and obviously she would take it upon herself to squish him and call him a bug, which in turn created an argument. She chuckled to herself. That's what made them so fun to be around. And luckily for her, Issun never ogled her or remarked about her curves—probably because she didn't have any to begin with.

"Geez, Ammy, you have to stop doing that," Issun said, snapping his fingers in front of her face.

She blinked and brought herself back to the present. "Huh? Doing what?"

Issun rolled his eyes. "Doing that, Airhead! Spacing out when people are tryin' to talk to you!"

"Oh. Sorry," she yawned, not particularly apologetic. Issun had a bad habit of talking incessantly and Ammy often simply tuned him out.

Issun pouted as the three of them headed into homeroom and found their seats by the window. By luck, the three of them drew seats near each other, much to their homeroom teacher, Mr. Kyuu's, displeasure. "Well, what I was _trying_ to say was that the school festival's comin' up, and I wanted to know if you guys were gonna come."

"Of course I'm coming, what a stupid thing to ask!" Ammy said, perking up immediately. "The festival's the best part of the year!"

"I _told_ you she'd come, Issun," Sakuya said. "Ammy wouldn't miss a festival for her life."

"Hey, I'm just being nice and asking, alright?" Issun retorted. "Cuz last year it turned out she had some Present's Day or something—"

"Parent's Day," Ammy corrected.

"—whatever—and it turned out to be just you an' me an' that Urashima kid, and you wouldn't even let me go to the maid café class 3-A was hosting and then we had to go watch the Digital Art club's performance the rest of the day with Urashima Tar-face because he's a loser geek potato with no friends, and you're too much of a busybody to have said no to him when he asked to tag along."

"Don't make fun of poor Urashima, Issun," Sakuya snapped. "_You_ probably wouldn't have friends either if it wasn't for you tagging along with me and Ammy." She huffed and crossed her arms. As an afterthought, she added, "And I am _not_ a busybody!"

"_Aretoo_," Issun coughed, and Ammy chuckled. "Hey, speaking of busybodies, here comes Queen Himiko," he said, nudging Ammy and smirking in the direction of the door just as the subject of their conversation walked in. Himiko Oujo was probably the only girl Issun was not attracted to, and that wasn't at all because of her looks. Himiko was not lacking in the beauty department, with long black hair, large dark eyes, and a perfectly proportioned face that made any girl jealous. She was smart and stately, which was also why she was elected as class rep. Even though she was so beautiful, her cold personality was a setback for all guys who wanted to approach her, which was why she earned the sarcastic nickname "Queen" from Issun and numerous other classmates. Ammy assumed that the reason why Issun hated her so much was because he had made a move on her in the past, and she had harshly rejected him.

"Stupid Furbrain, I'd never ask that out!" Issun hissed, as if he had read her mind. He had a scary way of doing that sometimes. "She thinks she's better than all of us, that's why. I just can't stand to see someone like that walkin' around the halls lookin' down her nose at us all the time, as if we were bugs!" He quivered angrily. He really hated being thought of as a bug.

"She's not _that_ bad," Ammy said. "I'm sure she just has trouble making friends, that's all."

"OMIKAMI. BOUSHI. KONOHANA," Mr. Kyuu boomed, and the three of them jumped around in their seats. He narrowed his one good eye at them with dislike, his glare resting painfully long on Ammy. "So good of the three of you to let class start," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Now, Miss Ojou, please come up and lead the class in a discussion of what we are going to do for the festival coming up next month."

Himiko gave a curt nod and stood at the front of the class. Ammy still felt Mr. Kyuu's glare on her throughout the discussion and shrank a little in her seat. She didn't understand why he seemed to hate her so much. Issun thought he was a delinquent in the past because of his orange hair (which was now streaked with gray, to "hide the evidence", as Issun put it) and the ugly scar over his right eye. But none of that explained why Mr. Kyuu treated her far differently from the others. He was naturally disposed to hate everyone, but he reserved a special sort of loathing for her in particular, even though she got good grades and tried her best to stay out of trouble.

"MAID CAFÉ," Issun shouted, his hand shooting into the air. Queen Himiko was now taking suggestions from the class as to what they should do for the festival. So far they had haunted house, movie showing, and maid café. A handful of other boys perked up at hearing maid café, since their class was fortunate enough to contain the four hottest girls in the grade: Himiko, Sakuya, Kushi Izanagi, and Fuse Satomi. Ammy was surprised to see that the maid café suggestion held an unexpected opposition in Susano Izanagi, who was a burly, beardy second year kendo captain with an obvious crush on Kushi.

"Absolutely no maid café," he rumbled, standing up, "unless any of you want a taste of my trusty sword, Tohenboku!" He glowered down at the rest of the class and, having said what he wanted to say, he sat back down with his arms folded over his chest.

"What the hell. I thought he was with us for sure, since Kushi'd be in costume," Issun muttered.

Ammy grinned. Of course Susano wouldn't want other guys gawking at his crush. She found that extremely sweet of him.

"Do you have any other suggestions then, Susano?" Himiko asked in the extremely formal, polite way of hers that drove Issun mad.

Susano appeared startled at being addressed after his speech, and asked to give insight on the discussion, no less. "Err, well, I don't have anything in mind exactly…" he mumbled, but was suddenly interrupted when a voluptuous young woman stumbled into class. The woman caught herself and adjusted her shawl back over her head, gracefully pushing the hair out of her face.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry I'm late!" she said breathlessly, bowing apologetically to the class in such a way that revealed her ample amount of cleavage. Issun was snared immediately.

"Wowie, what a sexy babe!" he drooled.

Mr. Kyuu shot a disdainful look at Issun and said, "Class, this is Rao Tsutzu. From today onward she will be your student teacher." Rao smiled demurely and raised a hand to touch the giant red beads around her neck. Her hands were soft and white, and her face glowed alluringly underneath her shawl.

"Please take care of me," she said, bowing. Half the class swooned.

"Oh, give me a break," Sakuya muttered.

Himiko didn't seem phased at all by the interruption and continued on as if nothing exciting had happened.

"Then if there are no further suggestions, we'll take a vote as to what we will do for the festival…"

"Oh, is the school festival coming up soon?" Rao interrupted. "Oh, I'm sorry, Himiko-chan. I just get so excited over festivals. If I may make a suggestion?" She batted her eyelashes and puckered her lips cutely. Beside Ammy, Sakuya gave a little sound of disgust. Himiko blinked.

"Of course, Miss Tsutzu."

Rao grinned widely and turned to the class. "I like the ideas you have currently, but everyone does these things for the festival." With one, swift sweep of the eraser, she wiped their suggestions clean off the blackboard. "What I suggest, is that we do something no one has ever thought of. Something like...a treasure hunt!"

She stood there beaming while the class murmured and nodded. Personally, Ammy thought a treasure hunt would be exciting and new. She looked at Issun and saw that he felt the same.

"Treasure hunting!" he whispered excitedly. His eyes shone. "Why didn't I think of something like that!"

Among his other spoutings and rantings, Issun sometimes got into a conspiracy theory mood and talked about how he believed the school was old enough to be hiding some pretty valuable treasures somewhere on its grounds. However, this didn't seem to be the idea Rao was suggesting, much to his disappointment.

"Nippon Gakuen has the reputation of being one of the oldest schools in the country," Rao explained. "Some people even believe that treasure lies hidden on its grounds. Creating a treasure hunt for students is the perfect way to celebrate the individuality of this school. We can make treasures—you know, small little things like coins and jewels and such—and hide them around the school with clues about their hiding spots. It sounds fun, doesn't it?"

The class chattered in agreement, bubbling over with renewed excitement. Ammy shot a look at Mr. Kyuu sitting at his desk in the corner to see what he thought about these ideas and the forwardness of his new teaching assistant. For someone who normally hated noise, class involvement, and enthusiasm, he seemed to be quite content—in fact, he looked almost pleased. Ammy shrugged. She would never understand the antics of her homeroom teacher. At that moment, he turned to look at her, and she felt an uncontrollable shiver pass up and down her spine. It was his eye, she thought. His eye bored through her with a ferocious intensity, and for the first time throughout the whole year, she was genuinely frightened.

"Where are you going, Amaterasu?" Rao asked, tilting her head.

"Bathroom," she gasped. She felt his eye following her on the way out.


	3. Mysterious Transfer Student

**Chapter 3: Mysterious Transfer Student**

Ammy returned to homeroom cautiously, but Mr. Kyuu wasn't watching her anymore. She let go of her breath with relief. Maybe she had imagined it.

By the time she got back, it was time for lunch. Issun bolted out the door to get in the lunch line before all the specialty breads were sold out, while Ammy and Sakuya pushed their desks together and opened their bentous. Mr. Kyuu had left to go to the faculty room, with Rao presumably following. After lunch, Ammy tried to pay attention to Mr. Kyuu's lesson, but it was hard with her belly full and the sunlight streaming onto her from her window seat. She felt herself drifting off and fought to at least look like she was paying attention so that she wouldn't get in trouble. Somehow the flute song from yesterday worked its way back into her head, giving her the same sleepy, nostalgic feeling. She closed her eyes.

And opened them abruptly. She wasn't imagining things. The flute was playing somewhere. Mr. Kyuu had gone silent and was frowning suspiciously. The rest of the class was silent as well, straining to hear where the sound was coming from.

There was a tap and a thud as the window opened beside her, and her eyes were assaulted by a flurry of pink and purple.

"_Pardon, ma cherie!_" said a laughing voice. She blinked and found herself staring at tall, bright red geta atop her desk. A boy—at least, she thought the person was a boy; she almost couldn't tell because his face was so pale and slender—leaned forward and grinned at her, tapping a flute against his chin. His clothes were an odd mixture of traditional clothing and pastel colors, which Ammy never would have thought to mix. Blonde bangs hung from underneath a hawk headpiece and trailed off into some sort of hat, the pink-tinged ends of which dangled in her face. "I didn't mean to land on your desk." He smiled and winked.

"If you didn't mean to, then what're you still doin' there?" snapped Issun.

The boy stood up fully and crossed his arms, looking accusingly down at Issun. "What is this, _ma cherie_? A little bug?"

Issun turned red with anger and jumped out of his seat as if to make a move, but Mr. Kyuu immediately shouted, "THAT'S ENOUGH!"

"You," he said coldly, looking up at the oddly dressed boy, who was still standing on Ammy's desk. "Get out of my classroom, delinquent, or I'll have you arrested for trespassing."

The boy merely smiled, and Ammy couldn't help admire his courage. "_Pardon, monsieur, _for not introducing myself…" He somersaulted in midair and landed gracefully on one geta in front of the class. He bowed, making a frivolous, sweeping gesture with the hand that wasn't holding his flute. "I am Ushiwaka Minamoto, but please call me Waka. Things you need to know about me? Hm, nothing more than that I am a mysterious transfer student and love music and _ma cherie_." He winked at the class and then gave a sly wink at Ammy. Issun sputtered unintelligible nonsense while the rest of the class whispered and glanced between Ammy and the charming blonde transfer.

Amidst the commotion, Rao burst into the room, clutching a stack of papers to her chest.

"Oh, the new transfer student arrived?" she asked, flipping her bangs out of her eyes.

Mr. Kyuu only grunted in answer and glared at Ammy. Her face flushed and she stared adamantly at her lap. That wasn't fair, she thought. None of this was _her_ fault.

"I'll just sit here then," Waka said cheerfully, taking the empty seat behind her. Issun scowled. Ammy felt all eyes in the class resting on her. She slunk down in her seat.

The rest of the day went without much incidence, if by that you meant relatively, and by relatively little incidence you meant that Waka continued to draw attention to her by calling her _ma cherie_—whatever that meant, although it sounded much too intimate for her liking—every chance he got and managed to get into arguments with Issun and Mr. Kyuu for being a smartass. In any case, none of that came close to his extravagant entrance into class earlier that afternoon, meaning that the rest of class period was perfectly normal.

"Why are you sighing, Ammy?" asked Sakuya, as the three of them walked toward the school gates. "Is it because of that…" She leaned over conspiratorially. "…_mysterious transfer student?_"

"What's so good about him, anyway?" Issun said loudly, pushing Sakuya out of the way. "I mean, the girls were all over him, as if he were hot stuff, or somethin'. All he did was spout some nonsense, sing some songs, and have absolutely no sense of fashion. That's nothin' to squeal about, if you ask me." He glowered pointedly at Sakuya.

"You're just jealous, bug," she retorted. "He speaks a foreign language, Ammy! Don't you think that's exotic? Are you _sure_ you don't know him? He was totally acting like you were childhood friends."

"I really don't," she insisted, for about the hundredth time. "Besides, I don't have any childhood friends." She couldn't remember anything of her old home, besides the flames and the smoke and the terror.

Sakuya sighed, saying that Ammy really ought to think like a girl at least once in her high school life, while Issun added obnoxiously, "Yeah, that guy's just an annoying, crazy pretty boy, right?"

"Bug," muttered Sakuya, slinging her bag at his head.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow," said Ammy. "I've got to wait for Ite and pick up the other kids. Don't fight too much, okay?"

Issun and Sakuya barely waved goodbye before they began bickering again. Ammy sighed and leaned against the gate.

"There you are, Amaterasu!" Waka leapt down in front of her, grinning his wide and cheeky grin. "I've been waiting for a chance to speak to you alone."

_Geh_, she thought. She pretended not to have heard him and searched for Ite in the throng. They usually went home together in order to pick the little ones up from elementary school.

"Your brother left already, if that's who you're looking for," Waka murmured into her ear.

Ammy whipped around, startled. "You…How do you…"

He laughed, and she realized angrily that he was looking down on her. "We knew each other when we were small, _ma cherie_. I've been searching for you for quite some time."

"Creeper," she muttered. But something had been bothering her about him for some time, and she couldn't shake the strange feeling of familiarity.

"You seem to have forgotten me," he said, patting her on the head and leaning forward to whisper in her ear again. "But I'll make you remember."

And with another infuriating laugh, he leapt upwards and disappeared into the trees.

[xx]

"Why did you bring him here?"

Rao riffled through some papers, but turned around once she heard Kyuu. His face was hard and gaunt and scowling, and she knew if she were a schoolgirl she would have been terrified. But for all his cold countenance, she noticed the scar over his eye twitching, as if underneath, the shadow of his old eye was flickering nervously back and forth. She widened her eyes innocently. "What do you mean?"

Fast as lightning, Kyuu grabbed her by the throat, shoving her over the desk and scattering the papers. Ah well. She would have to sort them again tomorrow.

"You know what I mean, wench," he hissed. "You brought him here, didn't you? That _transfer student_."

Rao smiled, staring undaunted into Kyuu's twisted face. "Don't tell me you're scared of him, are you, you old fox?"

Kyuu's eye widened, and for the briefest second, she knew she had hit the spot. He let go of her and backed away, narrowing his good eye with loathing.

Rao stood up straight, smoothing out the wrinkles in her dress. "Although if you must know, it wasn't I who brought him here. I simply was aware of the fact before you."

Kyuu made a disgusted noise. "_Pah_! And why should I believe _you_, you two-faced, lying wench? They should never have met again! Who's to say you're not working against us?"

"Hm," she mused. She looked up at him from underneath her bangs, her eyes sparkling mischievously. "I suppose you'll just have to trust me, now won't you?"

He threw his arms up in the air, taking a few quick paces to the side in frustration. "Of all people, he sent me you," he spat.

She rubbed her throat, her hand moving down to touch the glinting red beads that hung around her neck. She smirked. "That's because I am the best."

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><p><strong>AN: Hmm, I feel like I could have done better on this chapter...**

**In any case, thoughts? Things are starting to happen, and Waka and Ammy are reunited! But why can't she remember him? Is he telling the truth in the first place, or does he have his own, secret agenda? Mysterious questions for you guys to think about, I guess. XD Anyway, make sure you review!**


	4. Conspiracies and Lies

**Chapter 4: Conspiracies and Lies**

Much to Ammy's surprise (and great relief, she had to admit), Waka didn't pay much attention to her after that day. Mr. Kyuu still picked on her and glared at her during class, but not any more than usual. When Waka did pay her attention, however, his glares were much more intense, and much more…awful, in a way that sent shivers down her spine and made her mouth go dry.

Issun still wasn't any happier about the current seating arrangements. All throughout the day, he and Waka traded snarky comments, until Himiko politely asked them to please shut up (not quite in those words) so that the class could discuss the culture festival. Issun then got that look in his eye that Ammy recognized, whipped around to stare accusingly at Waka, and said, "SO THAT'S WHY YOU'VE COME HERE, IT'S CUZ YOU WANNA STEAL OUR TREASURE!"

Ammy facepalmed. Sakuya groaned. Waka blinked at Issun in bafflement, then burst into uncontrollable laughter.

"AHAHAHAHAHA! Oh Amaterasu, this friend of yours is too precious! AHAHAHAHA!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Mr. Kyuu shouted, banging his hands on the desk. "Quiet down and listen to your class representative! Minamoto, Boushi, unless the two of you would like to continue your lover's spat together in detention, I suggest you behave!"

Mr. Kyuu sat back down, scowling at the students who were trying to suppress giggles. Issun sputtered unintelligibly, and Ammy felt Waka shaking as he tried to control his laughter. Himiko nodded.

"Thank you, Teacher." She continued to prompt class discussion about the treasure hunt for the cultural festival. Ammy found herself beginning to doze off once again, when something tapped on the back of her head. Waka smiled and brought a finger to his lips. She didn't understand what he was trying to get at. He tapped the side of his head with his flute and, confused, she reached behind her head and pulled out a folded strip of paper.

_Meet me in the back after school. Please do try not to draw attention to yourself, _cherie_. ;)_

[xx]

"A love confession?"

It was lunchtime, and Ammy, Sakuya, and Issun were sitting on the rooftop. Ammy had reluctantly pulled out the note Waka gave her because somehow Sakuya knew she was hiding something, and they were now speculating what he could possibly be up to. Sakuya was really the only one doing most of the speculating though—Issun was busy stabbing his yakisoba bread repeatedly with a plastic fork, and Ammy didn't want to think about love confessions.

"I mean, what else could this mean? He's got the wink and everything!" Sakuya went on, analyzing the note as if it were deciding evidence in a crime scene. "His handwriting's pretty nice too…much better than _someone's_ scribbles…"

"It's _art_, not _scribbles_," Issun spat. "And gimme _that_, lemme see what the annoying bastard's written." He snatched the paper from Sakuya, scowling. "I knew it!" he cried, after skimming it through once. "Ammy, you can't trust this guy! He's probably gonna jump you with his buds and threaten you to get out info about our school's secrets!"

"But I don't know any of the school's secrets, that wouldn't make any sense!" she pointed out.

"See little bug? A confession is the only possibility here!" Sakuya said, whacking him in the back of the head.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Ammy frowned. "It's only been a week. He can't have fallen in love with me in a week, that's ridiculous."

Issun face glowed with fierce triumph. "That's right, Ammy! Shatter him, break his heart, show him who's the boss! Sparkly, foreign, pretty boy won't know what hit 'im! Ouch!"

"People have confessed for shorter periods of time than that," Sakuya replied smartly. "I mean, look who we're sitting with."

During middle school, Issun had reportedly confessed to every new girl he set eyes upon. He'd tamed a bit since becoming a high schooler, but probably only because most of the girls had boyfriends who wouldn't look kindly upon some random short boy hitting on their girls.

"And he's your childhood friend!"

"He _claims_ to be my childhood friend. I don't remember him at all."

Sakuya sighed. "You're hopeless, Ammy. You'd better go and meet him though, whether it's a confession or not. I want to hear all the juicy details."

"Alright, alright," she replied, waving dismissively.

"You'd better kick his ass," said Issun.

[xx]

_Meet me in the back of the school…_what did that mean, anyway? How long after school? Straight after? She didn't tell Ite beforehand, and he might be waiting for her. She hoped whatever it was Waka wanted to talk about would be quick.

The note didn't particularly specify where, either. _Do try not to draw attention to yourself…_what was _that _supposed to mean? As Ammy followed the rest of the students out of the building, she tried to make herself seem inconspicuous. She slipped around the side towards the back, but one lone student creeping along the wall was sure to attract attention, so she thought. She thought about Waka and his pink and purple clothes and how noticeable _those_ would be compared to her, and felt a little better. Still, she felt exposed underneath the classroom windows while waiting for him to appear. She wondered if Mr. Kyuu or any of the other teachers would happen to look down and see her right now. I mean, it's not like she was doing anything wrong, right?

She waited for about five minutes, wondering what Waka could possibly be up to, and if she came to the wrong spot. She waited for quite some time, worrying over Ite and the elementary school kids and Mr. Kyuu, until finally anxiety gave way to impatience, which gave way to frustration.

There was a rustling of leaves and Waka dropped down in front of her, smoothing out his pants but otherwise looking completely unruffled. Ammy couldn't help feeling annoyed. He had called her out after school, only to make her wait for what seemed like forever. With his geta, he was only about an inch taller than her, and she realized with a stab of wry amusement that he was short, like Issun. Issun would probably enjoy using that as ammunition, even though Waka would come back noting the still sizeable differences in height.

"I apologize, _ma cherie_," he said. "Club activities."

"That would have been nice to know about," she replied, hoping she sounded as icy as she felt.

"Yes, I didn't think things through." _You sure didn't._ He made a broad sweep of his arms. "But it's a beautiful afternoon, is it not? Nearly your favorite time of day, if I remember correctly."

Ammy really hoped this wasn't going to turn into a confession. She didn't think she had the energy to deal with Waka at the moment.

"Yes. Right. So what I called you out for." Ammy mentally readied herself for what she thought was about to happen next. Waka simply stood there, staring at her…and then the next moment he ducked out of view and a fist came whizzing up past her ear. She had jerked her head out of the way just in time, but now that she had no idea what was happening she found herself standing in a standard fighting position with her hands drawn up close to her face and her legs wound up and ready in case in came at her like that again.

"Wha—?"

"Fight me, Amaterasu," Waka declared, before spinning towards her with a whirlwind of kicks. She dodged his geta and backed away, baffled and completely confused. What was he _doing_?

Ammy continued to parry his attacks, falling into a steady rhythm. _Block, step, block step, block, step…_

Suddenly Waka's attacks ceased and he vanished from sight with only the slightest _whoosh _of his clothes.

"I'm disappointed in you, Amaterasu." Ammy slapped her ear where his breath tickled and swirled around with an outcry. Waka smirked. "You haven't been training much, have you? You've gotten weak."

_Weak?_ Ammy thought. Her hands curled into fists, and every muscle in her body tensed. He didn't know anything. How she had to look strong for the children. How hard it was to not stand out, to pretend to be normal. How she'd been forced to grow up before any child ever should. And there he was, thirty minutes late to his stupid confession/meeting/whatever you could call this, and he dared to call her _weak_.

Something turned on in her brain, and her legs worked so smooth and fast that it was only a second before she uppercut the smirk straight off his face. He blinked, stunned for a moment, but then his eyes lit up and a wide, genuine smile spread across his face. It was the craziest expression she'd ever seen, but she didn't waste time and pushed him back with a flurry of punches and kicks, which, much to her frustration, never connected.

After a moment Waka too caught up with her motions, and they locked into a furious dance of spins and dodges and punches and kicks. When one pressed another back, it wasn't long before they launched forward with an even greater counterattack. Ammy was determined to connect with another hit, and Waka appeared to be trying just as hard. At least, he was so immersed in the fight that he had no spare breath to taunt her with.

Ammy waited for the perfect opportunity, but for all his flamboyance and broad gestures Waka was a cautious fighter. He was quick with his strikes and his blocks—but there was one moment of carelessness when he went in for a punch; Ammy sidestepped out of the way promptly sent a hard sidekick to his chest that made him go flying to the ground, where he lay on his back for a moment, panting. Ammy stood over him, her hands on her hips.

"Yes, that's the expression I was looking for," he said, looking up at her with bright eyes and the same silly smile as before. Ammy's heart lurched and she immediately tried to compose her face. Had she been smiling? She'd been filled with fierce triumph when she kicked Waka to the ground, but now all she felt was a little ashamed for having been manipulated into a fight. The feeling of fighting like that was familiar, but she couldn't remember having fought in years…

There was a sudden movement in one of the classroom windows on the second floor, but when Ammy looked closer she only saw the fluttering of a curtain. Even if someone had been there, Ammy didn't think they would have seen their fight, but even so she felt a little uneasy. Waka got up, frowning slightly at the window.

"We should get going back home, _ma cherie_." He walked over and grabbed both their packs, holding hers out for her.

She nodded and then checked her watch. It was already almost five. She needed to get back so she could start dinner and work on homework…oh, _why_ did she let herself get caught up in this? She glowered at Waka's back as they headed out the school gates, but didn't have the energy to blame him completely.

Waka fell in next to her as they walked but didn't try to start a conversation, much to her relief. They were nearly at her house when she realized he had followed her all the way back.

"Wait, why are you following me?" she said. "Don't tell me your house is this way."

"I figured I would show up to have a taste of Amaterasu's delicious home cooking," he answered. "If that's alright."

Ammy sighed in answer and he followed her up to the farmhouse, whistling some tune. She figured he would have barged in whether he had her permission or not.

The triplets jumped up as soon as she entered the door, shrieking, "AMMY!" and clinging to her arms and legs. She staggered backwards a little, trying her hardest not to fall on Waka and take off her shoes at the same time.

"Sorry I couldn't pick you guys up today," she said, but they were too busy clambering over her and nuzzling their faces in her clothes to care.

Ite had come down the stairs. "Amaterasu—" he began, but then noticed Waka. The triplets just noticed him as well, and so had Kabe and Kasu, who were both sitting in the kitchen and peering into the doorway to get a glimpse of the commotion.

"Ammy brought home a _guy?_" Kasu exclaimed.

"_Pardon_, my name is Waka," he said. "Amaterasu was ever so kind to offer to help with my homework today."

"Right, '_homework_'," Kabe said softly, giving Kasu a knowing sidelong glance and a snicker.

"HUA!" Ammy said, hauling the triplets up the step and shaking them off her limbs. "I can't carry you all upstairs, can I? I'll play with you after dinner, okay?"

"Awwww," they pouted, but scurried off to bounce on the couches in the living room. Ammy grabbed Waka's sleeve and raced up to her room in order to try and minimize exposure to the rest of her family, but the damage was already done. With her luck, Kasu and Kabe would have told everyone by now, and for all she knew they could be already listening at her door.

She turned to face Waka and found him looking about the room with mild amusement.

"So this is Amaterasu's room, hm?"

She dashed across the room and covered his mouth immediately.

"_Don't say things like that!_"

"Like what?"

"Things that will cause a misunderstanding!"

"Oh, is that so?" he said, still not lowering his voice.

Ammy sighed in disgust and breezed past him to go to the kitchen and start dinner. When she opened the door, Moe, Kaze, Kabe, and Kasu tumbled inside, while Yumi, Tachi, Baku, and Nure squealed and tried to appear not guilty.

"Ammy, he's your boyfriend, right?" Moe asked.

"He's not," she said. "He's an acquaintance from school."

"Just an acquaintance?" Waka said, with fake hurt in his voice.

She stepped over the kids and headed down to the kitchen, hearing exclamations of, "Your hair is so pretty!" and "So what d'you like about our sis anyway?"

The triplets were hanging around the kitchen, clamoring for food. "I'm making dinner right now, don't eat any snacks, okay?" she told them, ushering them out so they wouldn't get into trouble. As she was searching through the cabinets, thinking desperately for something easy to make, she heard the refrigerator door pop open and was ready to scold the triplets again. Instead, she found Waka sorting through Tupperware of leftovers and setting them out on the counter.

"What are you doing?"

"Hm?" He turned around and smiled pleasantly. "I figured I would help you with dinner, _ma cherie_. It would be much more efficient that way, would it not?"

"I guess…"

"Consider it a gesture of my thanks," he said. "Do you have a large skillet?"

Ammy pulled out a wok for him, as well as a cutting board and a knife.

"Sit down, _ma cherie_, you're making me nervous."

Ammy didn't know what to do with herself now that Waka had appropriated her kitchen. The kids had come back down and were spying on them, but she didn't want to leave Waka alone in the kitchen to chase them away. She couldn't trust him not to burn the house down, and she didn't want to have to escape any more burning houses.

"I can't not do anything," she complained.

"Then you can cut these," he said, handing her the cutting board and a pile of vegetables. She started chopping vegetables while he prepared eggs and leftover meat, and then combined it all with leftover rice and freshly cooked rice for good measure and ordered her to sit down, which she did reluctantly.

"Dinner's ready, Amaterasu's family!" he called, and the kids burst into the kitchen and swarmed the wok. Even Ammy had to admit it was delicious, for being simply fried rice made of leftovers.

After dinner, Ammy hauled the drowsy triplets to bed and told the others to finish their homework.

"We already did!" Kabe said, looking pleased.

"Well I haven't yet, so I can't have you bothering me," Ammy replied, sending her off to her room. By the time she managed to be alone, she had forgotten about the problem of what to do with Waka.

He was at the window, staring out over the fields into the evening sky. When she came in, exhausted by the day's events, he said, "If you'd like, I can help you finish your homework. It is, after all, my fault for calling you out today."

_That's right,_ she wanted to say, but only managed a garbled, "Hn."

"I'm surprised though," he said, when they were working. Ammy didn't need much help and was, for the most part, trying to ignore Waka and think of a way to get him to leave. "That you'd be living in such a place."

"It's my aunt and uncle's house," she said.

"Oh?" He seemed to want to know more, but that was all she would give him. She'd rather not tell people about her past, especially this guy who claimed to be her childhood friend and randomly challenged her to a fight after school, for a purpose god-only-knows-why.

"Where do you live?" she asked, for the most part hoping he'd get a hint and leave than for any real curiosity.

"Somewhere around here," he said airily.

"Well, your family must be worried."

She kept working for a while until she realized Waka was being unusually quiet. She looked up, and he smiled.

"I doubt they are," he said, still smiling pleasantly.

Ammy didn't know what that was supposed to mean, if his parents were gone or divorced or if they simply didn't care. Any of those options was dangerous territory, and she herself knew what that was like.

"You said…you used to live here before." She didn't mention how he claimed they were childhood friends.

"It's true. Not this particular city, to be sure, but I did indeed used to live here."

He didn't mention anything about being friends, or her past, or much about his past either. He was decidedly vague, which Ammy found slightly irritating.

"Very specific. Next are you going to tell me you're really from the moon?"

Waka considered that and only offered a sly "Hmm…" in reply.

She scowled, and Waka only laughed harder.

"To rest your mind at ease, _ma cherie_, the truth is that I came from America* to Japan when I was very young. I moved back, however, after…"

He stopped abruptly, and something dark passed over his face. It was so brief, Ammy almost missed it, and when she blinked, he was smiling again as if he hadn't let anything slip.

"After…what?" she asked warily.

"After my dear parents got a new job," he said, with the same vacantly pleasant expression he gave her moments before. She didn't believe him for a second. In fact, she didn't believe there was a shred of truth in anything he'd told her for the whole week and a half she'd known him. It wouldn't have been surprising, at least. _Don't trust smiley men_, she thought to herself, and Waka was nothing but smiles. Pleasant smiles, coy smiles, secret smiles…the only time she saw a real smile was when they were fighting, and he looked truly happy. A little crazy, but happy.

She closed her book and was just about to stand up and kick him out when, much to her surprise, he said, "I'd better be leaving soon. I apologize for extending my welcome."

"Well, thanks for the dinner," Ammy replied awkwardly. She didn't want him to think this would become a regular occurrence. And she certainly didn't want her siblings getting used to calling him her "boyfriend".

"_Au revoir,_" he said, before blowing her a kiss and jumping out her window into the night.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Ahh, sorry for not updating anything in a while ;3; I'm going to try and finish this story at least and then work on the other ones. Hopefully this newfound motivation for completing this chapter means there will be more chapters soon to come. No promises though. Anyway, reviews are awesome, as usual! I'll try my best to update more often and get chapter 5 written.  
><strong>

***I said Waka was from America because in the Japanese version of the game, at least, his dialogue threw in English phrases, not French. Of course ****that would be lost on** **English audiences when translated, which is I guess why they chose French instead. I chose America because...well, I'm American, so why not.**


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